What's New

No new information from JMS on any of his projects -- but there is
plenty of news through the science fiction world. Did you catch
STARGATE ATLANTIS last night? What did you think?

KEEPING UP WITH CAST AND CREW

PETER JURASIK: Peter Jurasik looks the part of the Arkansaw Bear,
whom Jurasik portrays in the Harwich Junior Theatre production of
the same name opening next Tuesday. It is a role with which he finds
great sympathy. For more information, go to
http://www.capetix.com/show.cfm?showid=102710.

BRUCE BOXLEITNER: Bruce Boxleitner is turning up in another SCIFI
Channel original movie this weekend, "They Are Among Us." The
description from the network is: A college-bound teen begins to
suspect there's a sinister conspiracy in his town — one evidenced by
whispered rumors, missing persons and, ultimately, murder. Is there
a savage, alien beast on the loose in the woods? And could his own
parents be connected to the dark secrets making their way to the
surface?

The film will be in the letterbox format & have two initial airings:
Saturday (7/17) 9pm ET & early Sunday morning (7/18) 1am ET.

GARY COLE: Ranger Anne reports that Gary Cole (Crusade's Matthew
Gideon) has a part in the new Ben Stiller comedy "Dodgeball." Cole
plays the TV announcer covering the big money Dodgeball tourney;
Jason Bateman plays his (extreme sports) color analyst.

DISCUSSION TOPICS

Here's a suggestion from Ranger Gary:
1) How would today's technologies including CGI, digital, computers
etc. enhance, devalue, and or change the way producers such as Irwin
Allen (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, Time Tunnel,
Land of the Giants) or Gerry Anderson (Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet
And The Mysterions, UFO, Space:1999 etc.) made these TV Shows?

2) The SCI FI Channel has been presenting us a number of LowDown
specials -- the latest being STARGATE SG-1 and ATLANTIS. HBO has
done specials on upcoming movies. Do you enjoy the behind-the-scenes
material presented? Do you wish there was more?

Send in your thoughts and ideas to sgbruckner@.... I post them
on the Discussion Page for everyone to share and enjoy. See what has
come in so far. If you see an old topic you want to respond to, go
right ahead. We enjoy hearing from you.

SPECIAL CAST ACTIVITY - CRUISIN' WITH BABYLON 5

STEPHEN AUSTIN - Stephen Austin (B-5's "Pak'Ma'Ra Ambassador") along
with comedy legends Vic Dunlop and Bruce Baum are cruising the
Caribbean and want YOU to join the fun!!! Here are the details:
Departing March 6-13, 2005
The Carnival V a lor
Sailing roundtrip from Miami Florida
visiting Belize, Isla Roatan, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel
http://www.cruiseevents.net/dunlop/index.htm.

CRUISE WITH PETER WOODWARD
Peter Woodward is cruising the Eastern Caribbean on Jan. 9-16, 2005
and wants YOU to join the fun!!! Sailing January 9-16, 2005, on
Holland America's Westerdam, the roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale,
Florida will visit Nassau, St. Marteen, Tortola, & Half Moon Cay.
Experience a week in the Caribbean sharing laughs and fun with your
new friends. Peter's cruise is unique! The group consists of
friendly, people looking to have fun and share experiences. For more
information, go to http://www.cruiseevents.net/celebrity.htm and
then press Peter's photo. Space is limited! Don't delay, call today!
800-695- 5253 or e-mail: Susan@....

BABYLON 5 IN DELAWARE

Is there anyone in the Wilmington/Newark, DE region who might be
interested in having an occasional get-together to watch B5? Drop
me a line!
- Tammy (KoshIII@...)

RISING STAR NEWS

Saw this in the B5 moderated newsgroup and thought I would pass it
along:
<http://previews.diamondcomics.com/support/previews_docs/orderforms/c
of.txt >
In The October 2004 Solicitations...
AUG04 1597 RISING STARS #1/2 (O/A) $2.95 = $
AUG04 1598 RISING STARS #10 (O/A) $2.50 = $
AUG04 1599 RISING STARS #12 (O/A) $2.50 = $
AUG04 1600 RISING STARS #13 (O/A) $2.50 = $
AUG04 1601 RISING STARS #14 (O/A) $2.50 = $
AUG04 1602 RISING STARS #15 (O/A) $2.50 = $
AUG04 1603 RISING STARS #16 (O/A) $2.50 = $
AUG04 1604 RISING STARS #17 (O/A) $2.50 = $
AUG04 1605 RISING STARS #18 (O/A) $2.50 = $
AUG04 1606 RISING STARS #19 (Of 24) (O/A) $2.50 = $
AUG04 1607 RISING STARS #20 (Of 24) (O/A) $2.99 = $
AUG04 1608 RISING STARS #21 (Of 24) (O/A) $2.99 = $
AUG04 1609 RISING STARS PRELUDE (O/A) $2.95 = $
AUG04 1623 RISING STARS #22 (Of 24) $2.99 = $
AUG04 1624 RISING STARS VOL 1 BORN IN FIRE TP (STAR12207) $19.95 = $
AUG04 1625 RISING STARS VOL 2 POWER TP (STAR15724) $19.95 = $
AUG04 1626 RISING STARS VISITATIONS TP (STAR16700) $8.99 = $
(The dates related to the issue of Previews and the item number in
the catalogue, not the release date which is OCTOBER).

WHAT'S ON TONIGHT

CABLE AND NETWORK SHOWS:
8:00pm on NBC
End of Days
An ex-cop must protect a woman chosen by Satan to be the mother of
the Antichrist.

8:00pm on Hallmark
The Gambler III: The Legend Continues
A poker player and his pal thwart a dishonest senator. Bruce
Boxleitner stars with Kenny Rogers.

10:00pm on AMC
Manhunter
Director Michael Mann's version of Tom Harris' novel "Red Dragon" is
better than the new one that starred Edward Norton and Anthony
Hopkins. In this movie, "CSI" star William Petersen stars as Will
Graham, a tormented former FBI agent who is called back into duty to
help catch a psychotic serial killer known as the Tooth Fairy (Tom
Noonan). Brian Cox gets his teeth into the Hannibal Lecktor role.

ON SCIFI TONIGHT:

6:30
Pitch Black
Crash survivors fight nocturnal alien creatures.

9:00pm
They Are Among Us
Daniel (Michael DiLallo), a normal teenager who is preparing to
leave for college, begins to notice that people around him are
acting differently as his 18th birthday approaches. Little does
Daniel know that his parents (Bruce Boxleitner and Nana Visitor) are
hiding a secret. The last thing they want their son to find out is
that his mother is a member of an alien colony…and that Daniel could
be the leader they have been waiting for.

ON SYNDICATED TV TONIGHT:

Andromeda
The Warmth of an Invisible Light
Dylan finds himself in an alternate reality.

Angel
Peace Out
Angel strives to prove Connor was not merely a vessel designed to
bring Jasmine into the world.

BeastMaster
The Hunter
King Zad needs Dar's help to stop the evil spirit of a ruler who is
murdering the citizens of Xinca.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Witch
When cheerleaders start spontaneously combusting, Buffy suspects a
witch is in their midst.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World
Ice Age
A meteor plunges the Plateau into a new ice age which threatens the
world.

Mutant X
In Between
Brennan must connect with Jesse and guide him through past
experiences in order to save his life.

The Outer Limits
The Haven
The supercomputer in a high-tech apartment complex malfunctions,
endangering residents.

INSIDE SCI-FI THIS WEEK:

TOP SF NETWORK SHOWS:
Stargate SG-1 1.9
She Spies 1.8
Andromeda 1.6
Mutant X 1.6
3rd Rock 1.3
The X-Files 1.3
Angel 1.2
Beastmaster 1.2
Buffy 1.2
The Outer Limits 1.2
Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report, 6/21/04 - 6/27/04

BEOWULF: According the the Hollywood Reporter, Warner Brothers is
developing a film based on the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf.
Newcomer Matthew Sand will write the script for the film version of
the story, about a knight who takes up the sword against a monster.
The eighth-century tale centers on Beowulf of the Geats, who is
called to slay Grendel, a monster that is attacking a Danish
kingdom. The poem is known to have been an influence on J.R.R.
Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings.

MARVEL SUES DISNEY: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel
Enterprises Inc. is suing The Walt Disney Co. in a royalty dispute
over animation programs aired on Disney's ABC Family channel. Marvel
is asking for nearly $55 million in compensatory damages, interest
and other fees it says it is owed for royalties generated by made-
for-television episodes of "Spider-Man," "X-Men" and "The Incredible
Hulk." The agreements at issue in the lawsuit, filed late Thursday
in Los Angeles County Superior Court, were made before Disney
acquired Fox Family Worldwide in 2001. The lawsuit claims Disney has
not kept accurate records of royalties due under those inherited
agreements. Disney spokesman John Spelich said the company had not
yet seen the lawsuit and could not comment.

BRAD DOURIF: Brad Dourif was marvelous in the Babylon 5
episode "Passing Through Gethsemane" as Brother Edward. He has been
involved in a number of projects since then, including LORD OF THE
RINGS and DEADWOOD. Read an article on Brad at http://www.tv-
now.com/tesa/brad.htm.

THE MEMORY OF SHADOWS: Looking for all the information about JMS'
THE MEMORY OF SHADOWS? You can go to JMS Speaks here at The Zocalo
or visit The Lurker's Guide which has been updated with a new Memory
of Shadows page.

STARGATE ATLANTIS: Tonight is the long-awaited premiere of STARGATE
ATLANTIS. Robert C. Cooper, executive producer, indicates that the
show will be more than simply a rehash of its predecessor series,
STARGATE SG-1. "We want to appeal to the audience of SG-1, and we
wanted to capitalize on what we feel has made SG-1 a success and
made it this long-running show." Originally, ATLANTIS was designed
to replace SG-1 once it left the air, Cooper said. "There was a plan
to basically have SG-1 come to a close as a television series and
maybe roll into a series of feature films, and have that be more of
a passing of the baton into the new series," he said. "But SCI FI
asked us to do season eight [of SG-1] and season one of Atlantis at
the same time. So that caused us to rethink the concept a little bit
for the spinoff series, so that it would exist at the same time."
The result of this effort by Cooper and his team of writers was to
ship the Atlantis team of explorers to the distant Pegasus galaxy,
where they discover the lost city of Atlantis—but also find that
they can't return to Earth. "I think that made the spinoff series
better, made it stand alone a little bit more," Cooper said. "We
decided to set it in a different galaxy, which allowed us to kind of
wipe the slate clean and meant that the new team of heroes wasn't
going to be running into the same old enemies or crossing over …
with SG-1. We didn't want people to wonder, 'Well, why isn't SG-1
coming to save the day?' … And there was also something about why
hadn't we discovered where the lost city was? And the fact that it
was moved to a whole other galaxy, and there's this other new
frontier, so to speak: a whole new network of Stargates that you
can't really connect … easily with from the network in our galaxy.
And then coming up with a different enemy: That ultimately … set the
tone for the show." Instead of the Goa'uld, the bad guys are the
Wraith. "In many ways, the tone of SG-1 was set by the fact that the
Goa'uld had taken people from various times in Earth's history and
transplanted them in other galaxies, and we kind of went around
finding these little pockets of ancient culture. … The cultures in
the Pegasus galaxy are all being shaped by how they've dealt with
the overriding presence of the Wraith."

EMMY NOMINATIONS: A number of SF & F TV shows received nominations
this year, including CBS' JOAN OF ARCADIA with three nominations:
outstanding drama series, outstanding lead actress in a drama (Amber
Tamblyn) and outstanding guest actress in a drama (Louise Fletcher).
ALIAS received eight nominations, including outstanding lead actress
in a drama (Jennifer Garner) and outstanding supporting actor in a
drama (Victor Garber). SCI FI's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA received three
technical nominations, including outstanding visual effects for a
miniseries, and STARGATE SG-1 got one nod, for outstanding visual
effects for a series, for the season-ending episode "Lost City, Part
2." HBO's Carnivale received seven nominations; UPN's STAR TREK:
ENTERPRISE, with four; Showtime's DEAD LIKE ME, with two; the
canceled Fox animated series FUTURAMA, with two, including
outstanding animated series less than an hour; and ABC's Stephen
King's KINGDOM HOSPITAL, with two nominations.

SMALLVILLE: Executive Producer of SMALLVILLE, Miles Millar,
confirmed that star Tom Welling will be seen flying in the upcoming
fourth-season premiere—but not in a way viewers might expect. "He
doesn't fly as Clark. He flies as Kal-El," Millar said in an
interview at The WB's fall press preview in Los Angeles. "The first
episode is all about visualizing the internal fight between Clark
and Kal-El. Clark Kent represents his Earth-bound persona, the kid
who was brought up by the Kents. And Kal-El represents the person
that Jor-El wants him to be. This personifies that." This season
will focus on Clark's senior year of high school and will move
toward a big revelation toward the end, Millar hinted. "Clark Kent,
at the end of this year, will really graduate," he said. "And we're
introducing a whole new mythology as well that will involve Lana,
Lex and Clark. And at the end of the season we pay off something
that is huge in the Superman mythology. It all leads towards
something. Diehard fans of the mythology will realize what it is
pretty quickly, others won't." Smallville begins its fourth season
on Sept. 22 in its regular 8 p.m. ET/PT Wednesday timeslot.

DARK SHADOWS: The WB has abandoned development of the remake of DARK
SHADOWS. Garth Ancier, chairman of The WB said, "[It was]
wonderfully produced by John Wells, very well-written. [It] just
didn't quite gel the way we hoped it would gel, and we didn't go
forward, and we're not going forward."

XXX2: STATE OF THE UNION: Revolution Studios announced yesterday
that filming has begun on XXX: STATE OF THE UNION, the sequel to
2002's XXX. The movie is being directed by DIE ANOTHER DAY helmer
Lee Tamahori and stars Ice Cube as the leading man. Samuel L.
Jackson reprises his part as NSA Agent Augustus Gibbons. "XXX was a
tremendously rewarding experience for us, and we are thrilled to be
continuing this exciting franchise with XXX: STATE OF THE UNION,"
said Revolution Studios' Todd Garner. "Ice Cube is a talented and
diverse actor and Lee Tamahori is a gifted director, and their
unique abilities will make the second film in this franchise as
fresh and exciting as the first film." XXX: STATE OF THE UNION is
slated for a May 13, 2005 release.

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE: Production on the fourth season of STAR TREK:
ENTERPRISE commenced this week. All of the show's seven principal
cast members are returning for more missions while the series moves
to Friday night at 9 PM starting this fall. The fourth season's
first episode is entitled "Storm Front Part I".

CSI: CSI's George Eads and Jorja Fox both received termination
letters, according to the Hollywood Reporter for what is described
as "breach of contract". Reportedly, the decision was made over a
salary dispute, after both actors asked for more money.

CATWOMAN: Catch a glimpse from CATWOMAN featuring Benjamin Bratt and
Sharon Stone by following this link to
http://movies.channel.aol.com/movie/main.adp?
_pgtyp=pdct&tab=trailers&mid=16232.

THE 4400: Sunday's telecast of THE 4400 was the highest-rated and
most-watched new series premiere ever on basic cable, with a 5.7 in
households, a 3.48 in P18-49, a 3.75 in P25-54. and 7.4 million
viewers watching in 5 million homes tuning in. "We're thrilled with
the extraordinary response to THE 4400 from critics as well as
viewers," said Bonnie Hammer, president, USA Network and SCI FI
Channel. "Its success is a result of a great product enhanced by
creative marketing and strong on-air promotion - in other words, the
total collaboration of a great team." THE 4400 now leads The Dead
Zone (4.7 household rating and 6.4 million viewers) and Peacemakers
(4.0 household rating and 5.2 million viewers) as the most-watched
original series premieres in basic cable history. USA Network now
boasts four of the five top original scripted series premieres in
basic cable history, including Monk (3.5 household rating and 4.8
million viewers). For more information about this new series, go to
http://www.usanetwork.com/series/the4400.

STARGATE ATLANTIS: With the premiere only a day away, you may want
to check out their website at
http://www.stargateatlantis.com/index.html. It has biographies, a
photo gallery, episode synopsis and more.
Some familiar faces will be turning up on ATLANTIS, namely Colm
Meany (Miles O'Brien on two "Trek" series), will guest-star in a
three-episode story arc late in the season, and X-FILES Robert
Patrick guests in the two-hour ATLANTIS premiere

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE: UPN has announced that it will air STAR TREK:
ENTERPRISE at 8 p.m. ET/PT Fridays in the fall, instead of the
previously announced 9 p.m. ET/PT. UPN will begin airing reruns of
ENTERPRISE this summer in its new Friday timeslot beginning Aug. 6.

LOST: ALIAS' J.J. Abrams said in a recent interview that he wasn't
excited about the premise of his new show, LOST, until he and
executive producer Damon Lindelof added an element of mystery to
it. "In fact, I didn't even like the premise," Abrams said. "I mean,
the idea of a plane crash and people who land on an island, ... it
wasn't very interesting to me. But Damon came in, and we started
talking. And I started to think, '[What] if the island isn't just an
island, and if there's a story about the island, and if it very
slowly becomes about where they land and not just that they crash-
landed?'" In LOST, Matthew Fox leads a large cast playing survivors
of a devastating plane crash on a remote island. The survivors
slowly realize that they're not alone on the mysterious island,
which may harbor hostile creatures or worse. The cast includes
Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings), Harold Perrineau (The
Matrix Reloaded), Terry O'Quinn (Alias), Daniel Dae Kim (Angel-B5
Crusade) and Emilie de Ravin (Roswell), among others. Abrams said
that he and Lindelof were inspired by the works of Michael Crichton,
who often mixes science fiction with science fact in his
novels. "When [Crichton's] stuff works at its best, it's usually a
story that takes you in through the characters and explains stuff
sort of in a science-fact sort of way," Abrams said. "So by the time
you get to the science fiction, you've been sort of initiated. And
it felt to us that ... we can do the same and tell a story that's
from the inside out about these characters, something that interests
us, which is an aspect of science fiction, [and] not do a science-
fiction series, but ... have a show that has a thread of that in the
fabric of it. We need to do it in the beginning of the show and
not, 'Oh, by the way, we're now turning this into something that
also has science fiction.'"

SMALLVILLE: The WB has announced that the fourth season of
SMALLVILLE will begin on Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. (ET).

LAND OF THE DEAD: George Romero is set to direct LAND OF THE DEAD, a
horror film that picks up where NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD stopped and
continued with DAWN OF THE DEAD and DAY OF THE DEAD. Variety says
the film, from Romero's own script, will begin production in October
in Winnipeg or Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh was the site of shooting for
Romero's original 1968 zombie trilogy. The story is described as
following the zombies after they have taken over the world and those
left alive are confined to a walled-in city that keeps out the
corpse corps. Anarchy rules the streets, with the wealthy insulated
and living in fortified skyscrapers. The drama revolves around a
group of scavengers who must thwart an attempt to overthrow the city
while the dead are evolving from brainless slow-moving creatures
into more advanced creatures.

STARGATE SG-1: The SCIFI Channel was proud to announce that Friday's
two-hour eighth-season premiere of STARGATE SG-1 broke records with
a 2.4 rating in its July 9 initial airing. The two-part episode "New
Order" captured 3.22 million viewers, making it the most-watched
original episode of Stargate SG-1 in the series' history. The
episode also broke all of SCI FI's previous viewership records for
original series:
•It was the first episode of a SCI FI original series to deliver
more than 3 million viewers.
•It was the first episode of a SCI FI original series to deliver
more than 2 million viewers aged 25-54.
•It was the highest-rated and most-watched episode of Stargate SG-1
on SCI FI.
•It was the highest-rated and most-watched program on SCI FI in 2004.
•It was the most-watched Stargate SG-1 episode in its entire eight-
year cable run.
•It was the most-watched episode of an original series in SCI FI
history.
The Stargate SG-1 season premiere led SCI FI Channel to the top slot
for the night among viewers 25-54 and second place among 18- to 49-
year-olds.

REVELATIONS: In a recent interview, President of NBC Universal
Television Group, Jeff Zucker, talked about REVELATIONS, an upcoming
midseason replacement series. It will be an action-adventure series
in the style of Indiana Jones. "It's really … more about … the
search for whether or not the prophecies in the Book of Revelation
are coming true. That's really what it's about. It's more Raiders of
the Lost Ark in that respect and a thriller than it is about trying
to stop the end of the world." REVELATIONS, tentatively set to
premiere in January 2005, stars Bill Pullman and Natascha McElhone
in a one-hour drama about a group of people who are struggling to
forestall the prophecies in the Book of Revelation. When compared to
ABC's ill-fated supernatural-themed drama MIRACLES from last season,
Zucker said, "It's really an adventure. It's not similarly themed at
all. … There's maybe a religious underpinning to it, but it's not
that at all. It's an action-adventure. MIRACLES was not an action-
adventure. That was trying to do miracles. That's not what this is
at all. It's completely different."

SCARE TACTICS: Stephen Baldwin has signed on to host the third
season of SCARE TACTICS, replacing original host Shannen Doherty,
who has left to pursue other projects. SCI FI has ordered 14 new
episodes of Scare Tactics, a half-hour hidden-camera series produced
by Hallock Healey Entertainment.

FANTASTIC FOUR: According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jessica Alba,
DARK ANGEL, has won the role of The Invisible Woman in the FANTASTIC
FOUR movie. Alba beat out other potential candidates Rachel McAdams
(MEAN GIRLS) and Elizabeth Banks (SPIDER-MAN 2) for the part. Alba's
selection completes the quartet of superheros, which includes Ioan
Gruffudd as Mr. Fantastic, Chris Evans as the Human Torch, and
Michael Chiklis as The Thing. While no true details have leaked from
Simon Kinsberg's script, it's believed that the movie's villain
remains Doctor Doom. If that is still the case the character of Doom
would be the final major member of the production left to be cast.

A PHILOSOPHICAL INVESTIGATION: "The X-Files" creator Chris Carter is
set to direct the big-screen adaptation of British author Philip
Kerr's "A Philosophical Investigation" for Paramount Pictures. Mace
Neufeld, who has owned the rights to the novel for close to a
decade, is producing with Carter and "X-Files" collaborator Frank
Spotnitz. Carter and Spotnitz also will adapt the thriller.
Overseeing for Paramount is Brian Witten; Kel Symons will cover for
Mace Neufeld Prods. "The property was brought to me while (I was)
under contract to Paramount," Neufeld said. "It is one of my passion
projects, and they generally take a long time to get off the ground.
(Paramount chief) Sherry Lansing brought up the idea of Chris
Carter. I thought it was a great idea. I love 'The X-Files.' We had
an exciting dinner discussing it. We will be seeing a script
shortly. I'm a big fan of Chris and Frank and am very enthusiastic
about the project. There is a great role for a leading woman."

SHORE LEAVE: Reports have been received that SHORE LEAVE was again a
wonderful convention. The Tribute Video from John Hudgens for
Richard Biggs was very well received and a special auction to
benefit the memorial fund for Rick's children did well also.

MURDER, SHE WROTE: Ranger Jim pointed out that JMS' Season Eight
episodes of "Murder, She Wrote" have been airing on A&E recently.
Two episodes have already aired -- "Night Fears" (on 7/8) and "Lines
of Excellence" (today, 7/13) -- but three are still coming up --
"The Committee" (7/19), "Incident in Lot 7" (7/23), and "To the End
Will I Grapple With Thee" (7/29). The A&E web site only lists
programming through 7/31, so, hopefully, Joe's Season Nine
episodes "The Wind Around the Tower" and "Final Curtain" will be
coming up too.

TOP BESTSELLING SF BOOKS:
1. The Da Vinci Code
2. Angels & Demons
3. Song of Susannah (Dark Tower 6)
4. The Time Traveler's Wife
5. Dark Destiny
6. Cravings
7. Potter paper box set
8. The Dark Tower (Dark Tower 7)
9. Eragon
10. Wicked
Source: Amazon.com, 7/9/04

SUPERMAN: More woes for SUPERMAN. Variety reports that Director McG
has dropped out of Warner Brothers' production after failing to
reach agreement on the movie's budget and location. McG becomes the
second director to abandon the film, after Brett Ratner. Warner is
reportedly already building sets at Australia's Fox studios. While
shooting outside the U.S. could save the studio tens of millions in
production costs, McG felt New York should be the location. He said
in a statement, "When I flew to New York to scout, I became enamored
with our greatest American city. It was clear to me that this was
Metropolis. As a filmmaker, I felt it was inappropriate to try to
capture the heart of America on another continent. I look at
Superman as a character that embodies all that is beautiful about
America." After many delays, SUPERMAN appeared to have new momentum.
Warner brought on producers Neil Moritz and Gilbert Adler, and McG
was testing actors and storyboarding the script by J.J. Abrams (TV's
Alias). Superman still has not been cast.

ENTERPRISE: While on the convention circuit, Marina Sirtis (Deanna
Troi) broke some news about upcoming STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE episodes.
She indicated that NEXT GENERATION actor Brent Spiner will appear in
three episodes next season in ENTERPRISE. Spiner, who brought to
life the character of Data, will be playing the human grandfather of
Data's creator, Dr. Noonian Soong. Rick Berman has stated that one
of his plans for next season is to bring "familiar" characters to
TREK fans onto ENTERPRISE. We'll have to see who follows Spiner.

UNIVERSAL HOME VIDEO: Here's an ambious schedule of releases from
Universal Home Video. The first season of several classic and modern
day television shows will be available on DVD before the close of
the year. Here's the upcoming lineup of TV goodness from USHV:
KNIGHT RIDER: SEASON ONE (August 3, 2004)
SLIDERS: THE FIRST AND SECOND SEASONS (August 3)
THE APPRENTICE: SEASON ONE (August 24)
THE MUNSTERS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (August 24)
NIGHT GALLERY: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (August 24)
MAGNUM P.I.: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (September 7)
COLUMBO: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (September 7)
LAW & ORDER: THE FOURTEETH YEAR (September 14)
LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT - THE FIFTH YEAR (September 14)
LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT - THE THIRD YEAR (September 14)
DREAM ON: THE FIRST AND SECOND SEASONS (October 12)
AMAZING STORIES: SEASON ONE (November 2)
BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY: THE COMPLETE SERIES (November 16)
All of the DVD sets will be priced at $59.98 with the exception of
SLIDERS (priced at $89.98.) Universal also plans to release several
more TV shows on DVD before the close of the year; the programs
without a confirmed release date include the first seasons of MURDER
SHE WROTE, LAS VEGAS, MIAMI VICE, AMERICAN DREAMS, ALFRED HITCHCOCK
PRESENTS, THE BIONIC WOMAN and the television mini-series TRAFFIC,
SPARTACUS and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

SMALLVILLE: According to the Hollywood Reporter, newcomer Erica
Durance has landed the coveted role of Superman's future love Lois
Lane on SMALLVILLE. On SMALLVILLE, Canadian actress Durance will
play Lois as a college freshman with no interest in journalism who
comes to Smallville to investigate the death of her cousin Chloe
Sullivan (Allison Mack).

DAY AFTER TOMORROW: Fox will unleash the single disc homevid version
of THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW on October 5th. Fox is creating a
lenticular box cover that appears to show movement of the storm
across the arm of the Statue of Liberty. Bonus features include two
filmmaker commentaries, deleted scenes and a DVD-ROM link to a
behind-the-scenes featurette.

FARSCAPE: The first trailer for the new mini-series FARSCAPE:
PEACEKEEPER WARS premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel during the season
eight premiere of STARGATE SG-1. The trailer is available for
download at Farscape Fantasy. The mini-series will premiere in the
US at 8pm US-EST on Sunday, 17th October 2004.

TRAILERS: Ranger Ky passed along the following links to two amazing
Asian sci-fi/fantasy trailers that may be of interest:
Casshern:
http://a1410.g.akamai.net/7/1410/1437/20040323/www.apple.com/jpred/qu
icktime/trailers/casshern_large.mov
D-War
http://www.younggu-art.com/dragonwars/index_dwar.htm
STARGATE SG-1: Richard Dean Anderson (Gen. Jack O'Neill) is both the
star and an executive producer of the show. He said in a recent
interview that one of the highlights of his career was shooting
scenes in a military helicopter in a glacier in Canada for STARGATE:
ATLANTIS. "Martin Wood [the pilot's director] and I took three
helicopters and went up to Pemberton Glacier [near Whistler, B.C.,]
and shot a sequence ... for ... the pilot of Atlantis," Anderson
said during a break in filming on the set of the show. It was "just
kind of the guilty pleasure of being able to ride around for 10
hours over the glacier, being chased by another helicopter," he said
with a smile. He said that he's able to keep things fresh after so
many years by finding the quirks in his character. "I've sort of
been blessed with the freedom to play and to find stuff and make
things as interesting as possible without fear of reprimand," he
said. "Blessedly I've had—how do I phrase it?—it's almost as though
some of my behavior has been condoned by the fact that in changing
lines or changing an approach to a scene or bringing really a tilted
attitude toward a scene and characterization, that that in itself
makes it fresh for me. There's the written page, the written word.
And then there's the voice of the character, which I know best, but
[executive producer] Brad Wright, I think, out of all the
writers ... has ... the voice of O'Neill closest. ... Coming to work
with what might seem like the same old stuff, [I] try to make it as
bright and as interesting as possible." STARGATE ATLANTIS premieres
with a two-hour episode, "Rising," at 9 p.m. ET/PT on July 16.

KING ARTHUR: There are a number of new movies opening this week,
including KING ARTHUR. The film brought in $4.8 million in domestic
ticket sales, a decent showing, but an unclear indicator of its box
office potential, Exhibitor Relations told the Reuters news service.
The revisionist tale of Arthur and his knights cost about $110
million to $120 million to make and is one of the biggest summer
movies for Disney, which lacks a runaway hit so far this year.
CONVENTION CALENDAR
July 22-25, 2004
COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL
Location: San Diego, California (USA)
Guests: To be announced
For more information, visit their website at http://www.comic-
con.org .

July 23-25, 2004
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE
Location: Thistle Heathrow Hotel - London
Guests: John Rhys-Davis, Colin Cunningham, J.R. Bourne, Andrea
Thompson, Sarah Douglas, Peter Stebbings, Marc Cass
For more information, visit their website at
http://www.l3conventions.co.uk/alternateuni.htm .

July 29-Aug 1, 2004
CREATION CONVENTION
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Guests William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Tim Russ, Ethan Phillips,
Nana Visitor, Robert Picardo, Walter Koenig, David Gerrold
For more information, visit their website at
http://www.creationent.com/ .

July 29-Aug 1, 2004
VULKON CONVENTION
Location: Doubletree Hotel Tampa Airport
City: Tampa, FL
B5 Guests: Patricia Tallman, Jeffrey Willerth
Guests: Christopher Judge, Connor Trinneer, Alexis Cruz, Dean
Haglund, Garrett Wang, Michael Forest
For more information, visit their website at
http://www.vulkon.com/ .

I guess that's about it for now.
Have a safe and happy weekend.
Be safe,
Sandy

Sandra Bruckner
Editor/Publisher
ISN News: The Zocalo Today
http://www.isnnews.net